This invention relates to a dental post which is normally securely inserted into a tooth stub for retention of a dental restoration on to the tooth stub.
Endodontic dental posts typically have a substantially cylindrical body portion insertable into the tooth stub and a head portion protruding outwardly from the tooth stub and holding a dental restoration thereon.
It has been known in the field of dentistry to build up a dental restoration onto a tooth stub for reconstruction of dentition. The tooth stub is preliminarily prepared by cutting it down to provide a suitable support on which the dental restoration will be placed. The apical section of the canal is sealed with gutta percha. A bore is drilled into the tooth, along the canal. Then a dental post is inserted into the bore formed in the tooth stub. The body portion of the dental post is normally provided with grooves or threads formed thereabout for enhancing the retention of the post by cement surrounding the post. The head portion of the dental post extends upwardly above the upper surface of the tooth stub so that as a dental restoration is built up onto the tooth stub it is retained in place on the tooth stub by the head portion of the dental post. After the dental post has been inserted into the bore of the tooth stub and cemented therein a core is built up on the head portion of the dental post. The final restoration is then built up around the core.
Head portions of the dental posts used in the field of dentistry until now are typically of a flattened tang shape. The problem with such otherwise satisfactory head portions of the dental posts is that sharp corners of the end of such a head portion and also in the region of a transition between the cylindrical body portion of the dental post and the head portion cause cracks in the core material and which cracks can occur around the sharp corners.
Additionally, because of the flattened tang, there will be more of the tang embedded in core material in the mesio-distal direction than in the labial-lingual direction. This causes uneven amounts of core material surrounding the post with a corresponding unevenness in the curing of the core material.
Accordingly, there is need for a dental post with a rounded head portion and which would ensure a more even spacing for the core material at all sides of the head portion.